


Bad Influence

by Melaleuca



Category: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-27 06:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2683208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melaleuca/pseuds/Melaleuca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabble. Kamina spills hog spit on the village chief and gets in trouble. For some unimaginable reason, Simon sees Kamina as a bad influence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bad Influence

**Author's Note:**

> This is thing I did for Tumblr. Things to keep in mind are that it takes place three years before the main storyline, and it's only shippy if you want it to be.

God, it had been days since Kamina had eaten a hot meal.

Well, actually, it was more of a lukewarm meal. It seemed like all they ever had down in the dank hole of a village were lukewarm meals. Or maybe he was just unlucky, and they only had the nasty food on the days he was allowed to eat. As he shoveled down an overcooked pig-mole steak and a bread loaf — which wasn't half bad, actually — the teen adjusted himself against the uncomfortable rocky floor and decided to amuse himself lest he go insane.

For starters, what had he even done to deserve starvation this time? Oh, right — he recalled with a chuckle. This time, he hadn't even been trying to escape the shitty village — he’d just decided to take a little breather and pay a visit to Chief Sleeping Beauty. At one o’clock in the morning. With three buckets of hog spit. It had been totally worth it in Kamina's eyes — the look of disgust on the chubby, balding man’s face, which had been instantly replaced by some impossible eye-bulging and lip-pursing. The adolescent nearly burst out laughing when he remembered how the man had jumped straight out of his bed, still covered in the slimy slickery drool, and beat Kamina from head to toe with a heavy steel pole all the way into the all-too familiar barry hole that the kid had dubbed with the childish yet fitting nickname, “The No-No Nook.”

Sure, Kamina had had to go for four days without eating and socializing instead of the usual one or two (less time or more time depending on the severity of his offense), but at least he had come up with a pretty good cure for his insomnia, in the moment. He’d slept like a smug little baby after that.

But now, lo and behold, he’d been released from prison — surprise, surprise. Did the chief honestly think his method of punishment was effective? Although no one dared to come anywhere near the young imprisoned delinquent this time lest they incur the village leader’s particularly heated wrath, Kamina believed he had “connections” around the village, those who actually had come around and snuck him whatever surplus of food they could offer up from their possession from time to time. And even though he was all weak and frightfully starved now, Kamina reckoned he’d be back up and fit and plotting in no time!

"Ka— Kamina— ? W-Why are you... p-punching the air like that…? Y-You’ll get sick doing things like that while you’re e-eating!" Onyx irises twinkled down at the older boy’s wiry, barely-there arm muscles; to be precise, the round, dark eyes were like those of a curious (albeit largely scared shitless) young piglet. Although the kid they belonged to always looked scared shitless around Kamina, so there wasn't much of a change there.

"Ah, Simon!" The blunette's face still lit up with surprise, nonetheless. "Who the hell’re you calling _Kamina?_ Ain't I told you a million and two times to call me _Aniki?_ ”

"Yeah, but…" Simon averted his eyes uncomfortably. "A-Anyways, I’ll be off now!" The child had hoisted up his disproportionately large drill resolutely, and had begun to slog back over toward the tunnels and all his work when Kamina — surprising even himself at this point — grabbed the boy by the wrist firmly.

"Ka- _Kamina?_ " Simon stuttered, his voice raising a good octave. Kamina knew that sound — it was the sound that meant the younger boy was about to cry.  _Oh good God, what had he done._

"Simon, just hear me out," Kamina said, releasing the child’s arm once he had his attention. "Don’t you wanna get out of here sometimes? Doesn't it get _boring_ just digging tunnels further and further into the ground all the time? The chief should be telling you kids to dig upward! There’s a surface and a sky right up above just waiting to be broken into! Hell, you don’t even know if those tunnels you all are digging are gonna—" His voice had been rising with ardor, but he cut himself off when he saw the young boy flinch. Kamina took a deep breath, and pondered a second thought. "I'm sorry. I just hate seeing a good kid like you growing up in a place like… like _this._ That Chief is really something, ain't he? Do you honestly wanna go on seeing his ugly mug every day until you become an old geezer like him?"

"You—" Simon spoke at last, with his back still turned, "—should try not to say such insensitive things. Y- _You’re_ the one who’s ruining things, not him!" Not even a second later, young Simon had dashed out of sight, drill and all.

That — was the most Simon had ever said to Kamina at any given time.

Kamina sat straight up and blinked his crimson eyes as mixed emotions pulsed through him. Finally, he sighed heavily and leaned his head back onto the concrete wall, closing his eyes against the lingering embarrassment pitted within his stomach. Maybe things were actually better when he was in the No-No Nook. At least there, he harbored  _some_ hope that the digger would ever accept anything about him.


End file.
